


Healing evening meeting

by Metalsappho



Series: Metall/u/rgy [44]
Category: Metall/u/rgy
Genre: Cross-Generational Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 17:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10576032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metalsappho/pseuds/Metalsappho
Summary: During a head-cooling walk, Manganese comes across a very strange little creature.Characters: Manganese, Potassium, Lithium(Place in the timeline: 12 years ago; Mn is 21, K is 9 and Li is 32)





	

Manganese was taking a late evening stroll down the long corridors of the huge Alkali complex. It was only a few months since she was working here as a joint project with her university, and she was still amazed by the sheer size of it. It was a good thing, though, she liked taking long aimless walks at night; it helped her cool her (often hot) head; helped her forget this…mess. 

She wasn’t particularly enjoying her life at the moment and actually hadn’t since high school, when her friend Iron got pregnant and then, in a baffling display of selfishness, abandoned her girlfriend Carbon and her daughter Steel. _What an absolute fucking cunt_ repeatedly thought Manganese, for four years and counting. To her defence, Iron’s departure ruined almost everything; with a special mention on how her relationship with Zinc went down in flames. Manganese and Zinc had something nice back then but Iron’s folly made them take two opposite positions; Manganese being the one who resented Iron the most, while Zinc was the only one to defend her. Their opposition tore down their burgeoning romance in a matter of days and almost completely ostracised Zinc from the group, although that extreme outcome was thankfully averted. Then things have settled down; Carbon started law school and lived a college life made of studying hard, taking care of her daughter and having plenty of casual sex…and It was obvious that the last point was mainly a way to cope with Iron’s absence, which only infuriated Manganese some more. Not everything was bad, though; Carbon’s sister and electronics magnate Silicon came back and Carbon herself made some unexpected friends...after some one-night threesome, of course. The situation still sucked for Carbon but it’s at least improving, if very slowly.

As for Manganese herself…well, she was still absolutely livid, but there’s nothing she can do outside of helping Carbon and her daughter. She used to harass and yell at Zinc constantly, but since she began working at Alkali, she found late night walks to be much more productive – or at the very least, much less wasteful - and the security was very kind letting her roam around the deserted offices. She made a point of assisting Carbon as much as she can, but having some time just for herself was a welcome change of pace.

As she exited a building to walk into a yard, she heard footsteps in the gravel behind her. She instinctively turned around and got caught off guard by what she found herself facing; she’d expected some security personnel, but instead…there was a little girl. The incongruity of the meeting left her speechless, but as she picked out the girl’s physical details, things started to make sense; yellowish skin tone, silky jet black hair and big green almond eyes…without any doubt, she was from Lithium’s family, especially since she just remembered that the CEO Lithium and her family lived on site. Still, though; what was this younger relative of Lithium doing here? This is nowhere near Lithium’s residence, she’s sure of it; does this girl just wander about the site? As she was thinking, the little girl walked up to her…actually right in front of her, forcing Manganese to look straight down to keep eye contact, and grabbed Manganese’s skirt with her little hands.

“What is your name?” she asked, her voice was definitely a child’s, but she sure didn’t show any apprehension.

“Err-I’m Manganese…um who might you be?”

“Potassium.”

“Are you a member of the Alkali family?”

“I’m Lithium’s eldest daughter.”

“I see…do you wander around the site at night often?”

Potassium nodded “Yes, like you.”

This caught Manganese by surprise “Like me?”

“You walk in the buildings at night; I’m watching you.”

“Why?”

“You’re interesting.”

“Interesting? How so?”

Potassium shrugged “I don’t know.”

Manganese was about to question her on that but she realised a child might do things impulsively, ‘just because’…and actually, her teenage cousin Magnesium is like that too.

“The security doesn’t catch you?” Manganese asked.

“I know how to avoid them, and if they catch me, they just bring me back to the residence.”

“Why do you do that?”

The girl simply shrugged and redirected the question at her “And why do YOU do that?”

Potassium was certainly not one to beat around the bush, and it sent Manganese’s thoughts back to that whole Iron debacle.

“Things are…complicated, back home…walking here at night helps me collect myself, helps me think.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“I'm thinking about my friends, mainly…sometimes my cousin too.”

”Are your friends not alright?”

”What?”

”You look sad when you talk about them.”

 _Sharp_ thought Manganese “Well it's certainly complicated, thanks to _one friend in particular_ …” Manganese let out a big defeated sigh, but she didn’t want to burden a child she just met with problems even adults can’t resolve.

”Can I be your friend then?”

”Err…what?” asked a bewildered Manganese.

”I want to be your friend!” said Potassium, her voice as imperative as a child’s can get “I promise I won’t be complicated!”

Manganese spaced out for a bit. She surely wasn’t expecting such a demand from the child heir of one of the biggest industrial empires…and she certainly hadn’t a single clue on how to answer it. Can a rational answer even be anything other than a ‘no’? That’s certainly what her reason was telling her to answer, but the very determined and slightly blushing face of Potassium was really endearing, and pleading children is one of Manganese's weaknesses.

“Why do you want to be my friend?” probed Manganese.

Potassium shrugged again “You’re interesting, I like you.”

“You ‘like me’…just like that? Without knowing me?”

“I know you now.”

Manganese smiled to herself _what an amazingly strange little girl_ , she thought.

“Alright, Potassium, you are quite interesting too and I shall be your friend,” she said with a smile, still with no clue what she was letting herself into.

Potassium beamed subtly but noticeably at that, before carrying on with the questioning “Say Manganese, you have a family?”

“I have a cousin, but we’re as close as sisters, really. She’s called Magnesium, and she’s fifteen.”

“What is she like?”

“She’s quite hot-headed, more so than me.”

“You look calm.”

“I am now because I had a good walk at night, plus some weird little alien took a hold on me and asked me to be her friend.” Manganese said with a grin.

That reminder made Potassium slightly self-conscious, which is exactly what Manganese wanted and it allowed her to do the questioning for once.

“And you Potassium, do you have a family outside of Lithium?”

“Yes, I have a little sister, Sodium!” Potassium’s face significantly lit up as soon as she was talking about her sister.

“You sound like you really like her.”

Potassium vigorously nodded “Yes! I love her lots! She’s still very little; she’s only three.”

”My, aren’t you a proud big sister!”

Potassium simled and nodded vigorously before going back to her more neutral expression.

“Also, there are cousins that live with us, but I’m not very good with them, especially Caesium and Francium.”

“Really?”

“Yes, they become afraid when there are too many people, Rubidium said they have aroga…agaro…fo”

“Agoraphobia?”

Potassium responded with a nod.

“I see, agoraphobia can get in the way of a lot of things, unfortunately.”

Manganese caught herself having fun talking to this strange little girl; it was even better as a distraction from her worries than the walk, and that tiny oddball had a very strong personality already. She was one of these kids that never let go when they latch onto something they want, one that will likely become a bloody-minded adult in a few years. She interrupted her mental digression with a look at her watch, which clearly indicated that playtime was over and that she should get back home.

“Well then Potassium, that was fun, but I have to go, now.”

“Whaaat? Already?”

“It’s late and I have things to take care of, I’m sorry…”

“I don’t want you to go!”

 _Here it comes_ thought Manganese “Please Potassium, be a good girl.”

“I don’t want to be a good girl!” challenged Potassium.

There was a beat during which Manganese and Potassium stared at each other, Manganese keeping a neutral expression, while Potassium had a slightly dejected yet determined look on her face. _She’s really precious_ Manganese internally giggled before smiling warmly and gently stroking Potassium’s hair, looking intensely into the girl’s big green eyes.

“Potassium, you promised you wouldn’t be complicated didn’t you?”

The blunt reminder immediately embarrassed the little girl intensely, but despite the cornering she managed to maintain eye contact with Manganese.

“Now, I’m your friend, Potassium, so don’t worry, we’ll see each other again.”

“You promise?”

“Of course, I promise.”

There was yet another beat, as Potassium hesitated, but eventually nodded and released her hold on Manganese’s skirt. Manganese gave her a big smile and continued to gently stroke her very silky hair before saying goodbye and walking away.

 _Now that was weird_ she thought _but fun and cute too, there’s something about her, she’s captivating…and she does remind me Magnesium, for better or worse._

* * *

The following morning, Manganese was standing in front of Lithium…slightly apprehensive. She was the one who had requested a small meeting with Lithium to discuss her meeting with Potassium...since realisation hit her during the night that frequenting the child heir of the company without telling anyone would look pretty damn shady and it would be a terrible idea to keep on doing. She wasn’t quite sure where to begin though; especially as Lithium is not a person that makes one comfortable, not that’s she’s mean or aggressive, she’s just constantly serious and stoic.

After a silence, Lithium was the first to talk, while not looking up from the big pile of paperwork she was in the middle of signing “So, Ms. Manganese, why did you want to see me personally? I admit I have no idea what business you might have that couldn't be addressed by my cohorts.”

“Well, you see…you know that I sometimes stay late at night?”

“I do, is there a problem with the security?”

“No! Not at all! It’s just that I met someone yesterday during that time…”

Lithium finally looked up from her papers and stared at Manganese with a subtle questioning expression.

Manganese wasn’t quite sure how to say it, so she just went the direct way “It was your daughter, Potassium.”

Lithium showed much less surprise than Manganese anticipated, she even sighed lightly as if it was something she was worried would happen. “I see, Potassium indeed likes to roam around the complex in the evening, and has done so for some time, despite being asked not to. Did she bother you?”

Despite being taken aback by that question, Manganese answered immediately “No! Not at all…”

Lithium let out another sigh, of relief this time, allowing Manganese to continue.

“She was really cute and really upfront; she even asked me if I could be her friend.”

This time Lithium showed actual surprise, more than Manganese even imagined Lithium could show. It was actually the first time Manganese witnessed Lithium showing some actual body language other than professionalism, which is saying something.

Lithium’s surprise was such that she asked for a confirmation “She really asked you…to be her friend?”

There was something in her voice…it was subtle, but it was there; she wasn’t talking like she does in a professional context, Manganese felt she brought Lithium into a more personal territory…and _really_ hoped she hadn’t violated the sanctity of Lithium’s family.

“Um…I hope I didn’t do anything inappropriate.” sheepishly said Manganese.

“Oh, no it’s just that…Potassium is highly difficult when it comes to people; the number of caretakers I tried to give her is well into the double digits, solely because she didn’t like any of them…and when she doesn’t like someone, she makes it _very clear_.” Not really knowing how to comment, Manganese let Lithium continue; ”But it goes the other way, too; when she gets a liking for someone, like her sister, she won’t let go of it. Potassium’s affection is a switch; it’s either fully on or fully off.”

There was another silence after Lithium finished her sentence; looking thoughtful.

“Say, Ms. Manganese, would you like to be Potassium’s caretaker?”

Manganese's eyes opened wide; she really didn’t see that one coming, despite it mirroring Potassium’s request from the previous evening “Me? Like…right now?”

Lithium nodded.

“Isn’t that a bit fast? Isn’t there...some verifications to do before letting me take care of your daughter?”

“These verifications are done already; otherwise, you wouldn’t be an employee; a part-time employee but an employee nevertheless. As far as I’m concerned, any employee is trustworthy, the biggest obstacle being Potassium herself, but if she likes you, it makes you the most able person for the job.”

“Um, I don’t know, it seems all a bit sudden.”

“Well, then, how about we discuss it privately later? Report to the Alkali residence after your shift.”

“Err, yes ma'am!” promptly said Manganese who, without further ado, excused herself and took her leave.

 _Now that’s even weirder_ thought Manganese during the long walk back to her desk. Her first impression about it was indecision, then thinking she was unfit for the task…but was she? After all, she used to take extensive care of Magnesium while being younger, and nowadays she does help Carbon with Steel. Plus, Potassium is not only cute but very blunt, and that’s something Manganese actually likes.

Well, for now, she just has to wait for the evening, but she’s certain it’ll be interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a shallow reference to Potassium permanganate's medical use.


End file.
